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Definition: Millennium Bug

A common term for the Year 2000 problem. When punch cards were converted to electronic databases starting in the 1960s, the year field was carried over and stored with only two digits. On January 1, 2000, countless systems would have failed had this not been corrected in the prior years. For more details, see Y2K problem.

A Bit Melodramatic

Nevertheless, had billions not been spent to upgrade computers and information systems around the world, January 1, 2000 might have caused immense problems. This was the cover of a special supplement in the December 1996 issue of PCWeek Magazine.